SuspectBy Robert Crais(Putnam Adult)Taking a break from his perennial characters of Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, Robert Crais delivers a poignant, thrilling story about recovery, trust and how bonding with another living being can make us better people.“Suspect” also is the story of a man and a dog whose tentative attempts to make a connection with each other will save their lives, both emotionally and physically.The man in this case is LAPD officer Scott James, who was severely wounded and traumati

The fifth installment of a book series consisting of Western and Asian classics was released on Friday, at a low price to make the texts accessible to the less fortunate. Published by nonprofit corporation Olje, the “Olje Classics” series’ newly released books are: Sigmund Freud’s “The Interpretation of Dreams” (Die Traumdeutung); Unified Silla (688-935) philosopher and poet Choe Chi-won’s “Gyewon Pilgyeongjip” (Poems and Prose from Choe Chi-won); and “Myung Shim Bo Gam,” a book of selected phra

The Literature Translation Institute of Korea on Friday received the Order of Culture Merit from the Czech Republic for its contribution to cultural exchanges between the two countries. The medal was presented to Kim Seong-kon, the director of the state-run organization, by the Czech Culture Minister Alena Hanakova. The Czech minister, who visited LTI Korea’s office in southern Seoul to attend the special occasion, said she appreciated the group’s effort to promote Korean literature in her count

While bookstores are disappearing, book-themed cafes emerge as cultural spots

Brad Meltzer’s thrillers gravitate to best sellers’ lists. His contemporary novels, which include “The Inner Circle” and “The Book of Lies,” are steeped in historical facts.But wait, there’s more. Meltzer has written five comic books, including the Eisner Award-winning “Justice League of America,” has two nonfiction books to his credit and is the host of “Brad Meltzer’s Decoded” on the History Channel. His newest thriller is “The Fifth Assassin.”Q: In “The Fifth Assassin,” a killer re-creates th

Kinsey and MeBy Sue Grafton(Marian Wood/Putnam)Sue Grafton’s new collection of short stories, “Kinsey and Me,” is a mixed bag of material.There are gems inside that fans of Grafton’s “alphabet series” of Kinsey Millhone detective capers are sure to enjoy.Her best selling novels, dating back to 1982’s “A is for Alibi” and progressing all the way to 2011’s “V is for Vengeance,” are all readily available in bookstores.But did you know that Grafton also wrote eight mystery shorts featuring her pluck

The Third BulletBy Stephen Hunter(Simon & Schuster)Someone should have asked a sniper.That’s what Stephen Hunter ― a best-selling novelist who created Bob Lee Swagger, the best shooter there ever was, the Gun Whisperer ― believes.The gaping hole in the middle of most Kennedy assassination theories, Hunter says, is that the theorists, even those attached to the original Warren Commission, don’t know the first thing about shooting, ballistics or angles.“Looking at the body of assassination materia

Psychologist explores how changing one’s wardrobe can change life

A state think tank in South Korea said Thursday it has recently published an Arabic language edition of its English book on Korean culture to help enhance the Arabic world’s understanding of Korea.The 2010 English book “Cultural Landscapes of Korea,” written and published by The Academy of Korean Studies, gives foreign readers clear information, including photos, on Korea’s culture, rituals, industrialization, urbanization and its different regional culture. The academy is a research institute i

Adam Mansbach is a novelist best known for a parody. But don’t think that he bears any ill will toward “Go the F**k to Sleep,” his hilarious, bestselling ode to toddler-whipped parents.“It’s a funny thing; I think people expect that I’m somehow embittered by being known for that book, and I’m definitely not,” says Mansbach. “It’s opened some doors for me. I’m grateful for all of the attention. People who know me are tickled by what happened because it was an honest manifestation of my humor, and

With the abduction of an American tour operator in November, a provocative missile launch in December, and a high-profile visit by Google’s Eric Schmidt this month, North Korea’s scion Kim Jong-un has garnered extra international attention of late.This succession of provocations makes the timing of the English-language translation of a 2011 graphic novel about the North’s irascible junior Kim all the more pointed.In the novel, Ha Tae-keung, a National Assembly representative for the Saenuri Part

Scoop: The Evolution of a Southern ReporterBy Jack Nelson, edited posthumously by Barbara Matusow(University Press of Mississippi)Born into humble circumstances in Talladega, Alabama, in 1929 and later reared in Biloxi, Mississippi, Jack Nelson became a journalist by accident. He showed enough talent as a rookie reporter on small-town newspapers that in 1953 he received a job offer from The Atlanta Constitution. It would was a big step up, and Nelson was elated.During the rest of the decade, Nel

Love Is a CanoeBy Ben Schrank(Sarah Crichton Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux)Good love is a quilt ― light as feathers and strong as iron.A good marriage is a canoe ― it needs care and isn’t meant to hold too much ― no more than two adults and a few kids.These pearls of wisdom come from a fictional self-help book titled “Marriage Is a Canoe,” written 40 years ago by Peter Herman, a one-hit wonder now stumbling through his golden years in upstate New York, widowed, drinking, dating a woman he does

Abraham Lincoln is history’s most scrutinized American. Nearly every facet of his life ― his political accomplishments, ethics, religion, marriage, even his sexual orientation ― has been explored in the 148 years since his assassination. What could a new Lincoln biography offer?For author David Von Drehle of “Rise to Greatness,” the answer lies in tracing Lincoln’s transformation from inexperienced new president of a crumbling country to steady-willed leader who saved the Union in its most vulne

‘Morning Letter’ guru Go Do-won shares tips on living well